“It is a privilege to be part of a group of clinicians who excel in their craft, which in turn benefits the community as a whole.”
Associate Professor Mei-Ling Tay-Kearney is a consultant ophthalmologist at the LEI and Royal Perth Hospital. She specialises in infectious and autoimmune eye diseases and their treatments.
She completed her ophthalmology training in Western Australia before undertaking postgraduate studies in ocular immunology and infections at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, USA.
Associate Professor Tay-Kearney has a strong commitment to professional education and training. She is an active member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmology (RANZCO) where she is a member of its Selection Board for Training, its Training Progression Committee, and a Training Hospital Inspector. She is also part of the LEI’s Medical Advisory Committee.
She is active in Clinical Trials, focusing on new drug treatments for infectious and non-infectious ocular inflammation and continues to participate in tele-ophthalmology research. Professor Tay Kearney has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals.
She has held various positions, including Head of Department at Royal Perth Hospital, RANZCO Advanced Clinical Examination (RACE) examiner and Qualification and Education Committee (QEC) Chair responsible for the ophthalmological training program in WA.
Areas of clinical specialty
- Ocular infections
- Uveitis
- Inflammatory disorders of the eye
- General ophthalmology
Research interests
- Drug treatment for non-infectious posterior uveitis
- Tele-ophthalmology
- Novel treatment for Acute adenoviral conjunctivitis
- Artificial Intelligence in Ophthalmology
- Anterior Uveitis in patients with multiple sclerosis
- Macugen use in Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD)
Teaching
- Medical Student Co-ordinator 1996 – 1999
- Head of Department RPH (2003 – 2009) – Eye School was created
- RACE examiner (2005 – 2014)
- Qualifications & Education Chair (WA) – responsible for the Ophthalmology Training Programme. (2008 -2017)
- Chair Selection Committee (WA) – responsible for selection of candidates into the Ophthalmology programme (2008 – 2017)
- Ophthalmology Curriculum Standards – member of team setting up the Standards
- Curriculum Review Committee member (2018)
- Training Progression Committee member (2017 – )
- Selection Board Member (2018 – )
- Hospital Training Inspector (2018 – )
- Presentations made to GP conferences, optometrists (Optomax), nurses (AONA), peers, other medical colleagues etc
- PhD student supervisor
Professional Achievements
- RANZCO Selection Board member
- RANZCO Hospital Inspector
- RANZCO Progression Committee member
- Chair, Qualifications and Education Committee WA
- Editorial Board member Clinical Experimental Ophthalmology
- External Examiner for University of Malaya
- Head of Ophthalmology Department, Royal Perth Hospital (2004-2010)
- Postgraduate studies in ocular immunology and infections at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, USA.
- Certificate of the Educational commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (USA)
- Twice voted Best Clinical teacher by the WA registrar group
Professional memberships
- Australian Uveitis Study Group
- International Ocular Inflammation Society
- AMA
Current hospital/university affiliations
- Consultant Ophthalmologist, Lions Eye Institute
- Associate Professor, University of Western Australia
- Reviewer for CEO, Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, MJA, Kuwait J Ophthalmology
- Reviewer for NHMRC and ORIA grants
- Reviewer for Masters and PhD papers
- Editorial Board member – International Scholarly Research Notices
- Trainee Progression Committee – member
- Selection Board member RANZCO
- Hospital Training Inspector RANZCO
- Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) member RPH
- MAC, Lions Eye Institute (LEI)
- Clinical Leadership Group member LEI
